Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

What are the chances of getting in before September?

37 replies

Ooohee · 05/03/2025 10:18

Does anyone have any experience of being placed on a waiting list and your child getting in before September?
We’ve decided to place dc on the waiting list for our second choice school as we no longer want first choice. Bit worried that they wont get in but also that they might be offered a space after term starts which would probably be quite disruptive.

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
billandtedsexcellentadventure · 27/03/2025 20:53

Just giving an update, we got offered our second choice school this week.

billandtedsexcellentadventure · 27/03/2025 20:53

Just giving an update, we got offered our second choice school this week.

Original poster
Ooohee · 19/03/2025 18:27

billandtedsexcellentadventure · 17/03/2025 19:55

Have you heard anything?

I got an email a couple of days ago saying I should be contacted within the next week regarding the waiting lists. So still non the wiser really.

have you heard anything?

OP posts:
billandtedsexcellentadventure · 17/03/2025 19:55

Have you heard anything?

roselilylavender · 08/03/2025 02:08

Just to say that we didn't have to accept our place. If we wanted to reject it, then we had to call or email the local authority. I'm not sure if this is their system across the county or just in our school which is selective entry and oversubscribed so, unless you put it down as first choice, you won't get a place and, having been offered a place, I think they can pretty much guarantee everyone will turn up. It's the sort of school where, even pre-VAT, most people would prefer the state grammar to any of the local independents so it as very rare for anyone to drop out even on that basis.

QueenOfThorns · 07/03/2025 22:34

I think we also have until 17th March to let them know, but I was already phoned on Wednesday by someone from the council to let me know that there was a place for DD in our first choice school (we were originally offered our fourth!). So it’s possible that you could hear anytime. Is there any info on the council website? I could see on ours how many people in the same category had missed out on the top school, so the maximum number who might be ahead of us. As it turned out, we must’ve been right near the top.

Good luck, I hope you get the place!

PopcornPoppingInAPan · 07/03/2025 22:24

billandtedsexcellentadventure · 07/03/2025 14:18

I've contacted one school and they've told me we are the first on the list. They also said between now and the 17th march (which is acceptance deadline) that there is usually. High number of children who go elsewhere else and move. So I wondered whether they'd just start going down the waiting list then?

Assuming it works the same as our LA (I suspect it does but check your LA website) then families have until 17 March to reject the place they’ve been offered. During that time they won’t offer waitlist places that have come up. Instead they run two rounds of continuing interest, the first from 24-28 March. So it’s during that 24-28 window that you may get offered a space, or possibly second continuing interest run in April.

Original poster
Ooohee · 07/03/2025 16:07

@Hiff i will phone next week if I haven’t heard back from them via email I think

OP posts:
Original poster
Ooohee · 07/03/2025 16:07

@billandtedsexcellentadventure sounds promising! Hopefully you’ll know if you get in sooner rather than later.

OP posts:
billandtedsexcellentadventure · 07/03/2025 14:18

I've contacted one school and they've told me we are the first on the list. They also said between now and the 17th march (which is acceptance deadline) that there is usually. High number of children who go elsewhere else and move. So I wondered whether they'd just start going down the waiting list then?

Hiff · 07/03/2025 11:31

If you phone the LA they should be able to tell you your position on the waiting list and also how much the lists tend to move too.

PopcornPoppingInAPan · 07/03/2025 10:50

Ooohee · 07/03/2025 09:16

Thanks @billandtedsexcellentadventure love the username!

We must have to accept or reject at some point, how else would they know how many kids will turn up at the start of term? 😆
Our letter just says that if the school is within our LA then we don’t need to do anything.

Show quote history

I think in some LAs at least they assume that you will be taking up a place at the school you’ve been offered unless you actively reject it.

Every year schools get “no-shows” on the first day of term so it’s only at that point it becomes clear that the place isn’t being used and can be offered to the WL.

Original poster
Ooohee · 07/03/2025 09:16

billandtedsexcellentadventure · 06/03/2025 15:35

We have to accept or decline by 15th march. I'm guessing they'll have more idea of numbers by then and can start going through the waiting list?

Thanks @billandtedsexcellentadventure love the username!

We must have to accept or reject at some point, how else would they know how many kids will turn up at the start of term? 😆
Our letter just says that if the school is within our LA then we don’t need to do anything.

OP posts:
billandtedsexcellentadventure · 06/03/2025 15:35

We have to accept or decline by 15th march. I'm guessing they'll have more idea of numbers by then and can start going through the waiting list?

Original poster
Ooohee · 06/03/2025 13:27

Thank you 🙂
I will let it go for now and see what happens, that’s all I can do

OP posts:
viques · 06/03/2025 13:17

Ooohee · 06/03/2025 13:13

@viques i can’t really argue with that, tbf

🙂

good luck with the waiting list

Original poster
Ooohee · 06/03/2025 13:13

@viques i can’t really argue with that, tbf

OP posts:
viques · 06/03/2025 13:04

Ooohee · 06/03/2025 09:49

I phoned the school this morning. The woman I spoke to was wholly unhelpful and said it was nothing to do with the school and to contact the LA. She was incredibly sharp and now I regret phoning 😫
Maybe I should’ve emailed instead.

So I guess I’ll just try and out it out of my mind and see what happens

To be fair I am not surprised she was a bit sharp. She is probably fielding calls all day from parents who didn’t get offered a place in that school and are distraught and possibly tearful. I can understand her not being wholly sympathetic with a parent who got their first choice of school but has now changed their mind! And as she said, it is out of her hands. Put yourself on the waiting list for school 2 and see what happens.

Original poster
Ooohee · 06/03/2025 10:11

On our offer letter it states that we don’t need to get in touch but that the school will contact us at a later date. Perhaps they will ask if we accept at that point?
Sorry if I’m asking daft questions

OP posts:
WombatChocolate · 06/03/2025 10:06

Are you sure you haven’t been? Or that there isn’t a date to reject by?
Some places have a date for rejection and assume acceptance if rejection not submitted by date.

Def check this.

And again, don’t reject the unwanted allocated school. Accepting it won’t impact your wait list position with other school. BUT if by chance you reject and the wait list can’t offer a place, then the LA might send you miles to a random school as you’ll no longer be entitled to the one offered and that place will be given away.

Original poster
Ooohee · 06/03/2025 10:02

Thank you @WombatChocolate
its a comp. Non faith school. There is the usual basic criteria, distance, siblings, LAC.
Unfortunately we only qualify on distance so I suppose there is a chance we won’t be top of the list.

We haven’t been told anything about deadlines. How will the schools know final numbers if we are not asked to accept or reject?

OP posts:
WombatChocolate · 06/03/2025 09:58

Sorry to hear you got an unhelpful person.

If you would have got a place if you’d put it first, you will be very high up on any wait list. Some children might accept independent school offers and some movement is likely v quickly after the deadline to accept. After that further movement happens as people move house, change plans and other school WL move.

Is it a Grammar or a Comp? Just dependent on distance or other criteria such as faith? If you have a LAC or other top criteria you are likely to be top of list.

Original poster
Ooohee · 06/03/2025 09:49

I phoned the school this morning. The woman I spoke to was wholly unhelpful and said it was nothing to do with the school and to contact the LA. She was incredibly sharp and now I regret phoning 😫
Maybe I should’ve emailed instead.

So I guess I’ll just try and out it out of my mind and see what happens

OP posts:
Original poster
Ooohee · 05/03/2025 21:59

Thanks so much everyone, all this info is appreciated! As you can probably tell, this is my first rodeo with secondary schools and I clearly know nothing.

I will email the school tomorrow to see if they can offer any insight.

as far as I can tell though, my local authority doesn’t ask that you accept/reject a school so I’m thinking they won’t know final numbers until the very last moment? Unless I’ve got that wrong?

I’ll plan as though we are going to the school offered but just keep hoping that the alternative one has a space come up.

OP posts:
billandtedsexcellentadventure · 05/03/2025 21:23

I have spoken to one school who thinks I could be offered a place once the deadline has been met for accepting places. LA said I should find out in 4-6 weeks.